Something Different
by Smallpot8o
Summary: It started innocently enough. Well, as innocent as anything you can associate with Damon Salvatore.
1. Chapter 1

It started innocently enough. Well, as innocent as anything you can associate with Damon Salvatore.

He would find himself in the woods, not really caring where the urge to go tramping around the forest in the afternoon came from. He would sense her power first before anything else. A quiet surge that belied the untapped strength underneath. Then he'd get a whiff of cinnamon that felt like a very worn security blanket you'd never let go.

It was a curious feeling, foreign. It was akin to how he felt around Elena, yet still so different. With Elena, the rise of passion and want bloomed in the chest and tingled just at the surface of his skin. With Bonnie, it was a calming storm that filled his being with curiosity, amusement, and surprising need. It coursed deep in him, spreading through him.

Damon frowned when he heard crackling and thumping sounds in succession. He vamp sped to the source and came to an abrupt halt at seeing Bonnie throwing branches against a tree. That sounded dull if it wasn't quite awesome to watch. She would raise her hand and curl it as she summoned a branch from a random tree. She'd twist her hand and the branch would turn as directed, then she would flick her delicate fingers towards a big tree that served as her target. The branch would shoot straight at the bark, sticking out against it in three separate pieces.

He watched her do it a couple more times before he made his presence known.

"Oh that poor, poor tr -"

One stick went flying past, over her shoulder, and shot through his right one. He staggered back against the impact and fell flat on his ass.

"What the hell, Bonnie!" he shouted as he tried to get up. Then his body pitched forward and his hand shot out to keep his face from hitting the floor as the makeshift stake was pulled from his body. "Shit."

"Serves you right for sneaking up on me."

By the time Damon was upright, Bonnie was walking back towards the tree. He watched her inspect the stakes, testing how deep they went through the bark. It was pretty deep. Impressive.

"Watcha doing witch?"

Bonnie exhaled, annoyed. "What do you think I'm doing, Damon?" It's not like he hasn't barged in her practice sessions.

Damon grinned then suddenly barreled towards her. Bonnie didn't waste a second and had her right hand up which resulted to the vampire crashing against a barrier. He boomeranged back and split a small boulder when he crashed on it.

The witch was getting better with her reflexes. He grunted as he straightened and watched the tiny woman walk casually away, not even sparing him another glance. Naturally, he followed.

'Ugh.' Bonnie felt a breeze behind her then heard boots crunching over ankle high grass beside her and knew Damon was now matching her pace. She should be used to it by now, him popping up everywhere. She should feel familiar at least with this weird...thing (she really didn't know how else to describe it) since he's been following her around for the past month now. It was disconcerting to say the least as she really didn't know what Damon was up to. Where was dear old Elena who could bat her doe eyes to help distract him? Because she wasn't really enjoying these 'encounters.' She was pretty sure the arrogant prick was up to something that would result to her risking her life for Elena or something to his benefit alone. Right now she's not in the mood since Mystic Falls has been relatively supernatural drama-free at the moment.

She was glad that it took a while before Damon showed up. He would usually discover her right in the middle or near the beginning of her 'practice sessions.' She didn't know how he somehow finds her and she really didn't care to know. She'd rather stay ignorant than learn how she's going to be the means to his Elena end. She reveled in the fact that there was no need for her to tolerate his presence for an extended period so she continued to ignore him.

Unfortunately, the vampire walked with self-assuredness and nonchalance, already used to Bonnie's indifferent facade. He's been around her enough that he's figured out the little nuances and moods of the resident witch. Bonnie Bennett was not in a playing mood today which was absolutely fine. He's always up for the challenge anyway.

The sigh of relief when Bonnie got into her car stopped mid-exhale when she heard the passenger door close. Sure enough, Damon was already seated beside her, looking far too comfortable in her snug Prius.

It took everything in her not to growl in annoyance. "What do you want, Damon?" she asked, leaving the doors unlocked. She didn't want any hindrances when she kicks him out of her car.

"A ride." he answered, wagging his eyes. The winning smile he topped it off would've charmed any other girl in the planet and that lucky girl would've driven him to the nearest available bed. Bonnie, of course, has always been the exception. For a second, she imagined driving her car to a ditch while she dove out of the window and rolled away to safety. The fantasy was shattered when she remembered that the idiot was a vampire and he would've gotten out before her. Most likely, he would've secured her seatbelt on before he left the car. She stopped her mini-nightmare before the broken windshield hit her face.

The teenage witch braced for the oncoming headache and it was difficult to Zen this out when the one that kept triggering insanity was an arm's length away.

"Damon, you don't need a ride. You can go to anywhere in Mystic falls faster than my car."

"Sure. But it won't be as fun as judging your girlie car and annoying you."

Bonnie felt like she was the yarn and he was the starving, blood-sucking, stray kitten. "I'm not here for your amusement, asshole."

"But I'm so ridiculously amused anyway."

He leaned forward and Bonnie leaned back, keeping what distance can be achieved in the confines of her car. Damon smirked at the look of utter disdain on her face. Call him a masochist but he loved the immediate reaction he had on her. Her muddy green eyes glittering with hate, her cupid's bow turned down in disgust, and the magic that was simmering just under her skin, ready to put him in his place. He never felt so important.

Bonnie had a frown so severe, Damon had the sudden urge to kiss it away like a parent would to a child. As soon as that thought crossed over, he reacted and immediately thought of something worse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bonnie asked, her eyes narrowed. Then they widened when Damon lowered his eyes to her mouth.

It was such a rush, feeling the frame of the car door graze painfully against his sides as he went through it and flying through the air. He groaned at the impact after he plowed into a tree with such force that he heard it crack against his spine. He chuckled as he tried to regroup, his brain barely registering a car door slam shut and the squeal of tires scrambling to get away from him. He didn't really care. He loved the chase.

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She was making fireflies.

That sounded utterly ridiculous. Yet to Bonnie's mind, it was just so astoundingly fantastical, she would stick to that phrasing if anyone asked. She was on a bench in her backyard facing the forest, creating fingertip balls of fire light. She would point her finger to a space in the air and leave small touches of light around her. She didn't know if this was of any use for a witch but she wanted to try it when she came across the spell in her grimoire. It may just be some parlor trick but the illusion made her tingle nonetheless.

It was simple. It was cool. It was magic.

There may not be a point, only that it can be done. That she can.

At present, there were about ten tiny fireballs in front of her, like subdued roman candles floating in mid-air. Bonnie cocked her head and then waved her hand in between the lights, weaving around them, making them move like paper boats on still water.

"You're going to be a 'great' magician."

The fireflies dropped like someone sprayed them with insecticide. The condescending voice that came out of nowhere certainly grated her like someone sprayed her with one intentionally. Up her nose.

She wanted to heave a heavy sigh but she knew that would still be reason enough for Damon to think that he affected her. She's internally debating between telling him to get the fuck off her property or just get herself inside the house before she resorted to pyrotechnics.

Unfortunately, Damon decided for her when he parked his vampire ass right beside her, plopping unceremoniously like he belonged there. In reflex, Bonnie flicked her wrist and Damon's body slid a foot farther away. Bonnie gritted her teeth when he just looked her in the eye and grinned.

"How are parlor tricks going to help you?" Damon was like a dog with a human bone. He turned his body towards her and unfolded his right leg behind her back, casually trapping her between his limbs. She was glad that they were in her backyard where no one could witness it because she knew their position would look quite intimate from across the street. It made Bonnie cringe.

"How do you know it's a useless spell?" she asked back.

"What? You're going to dazzle your enemies to death?" He punctuated the question with jazz hands.

"Were you dazzled?"

With Damon popping up unexpectedly almost every other day, Bonnie has gotten familiar with his mannerisms - his cocky attitude, his vanity, his delight in miserable company. So Bonnie watched curiously when his expression hardened at her question and she didn't know why. She may have hit on something and she wanted to know what it was. Anything she can exploit and give her the upper hand against the jerk.

"I'm not your enemy."

And an elegant eyebrow went high up as green eyes bored into ice blue ones. Well, she wasn't expecting that.

"Just because you don't like me doesn't make me your enemy." he added, his expression not changing.

"Way to use an understatement, vampire. Feel free to use loathe, hate, despise anytime."

"I prefer fond, adore, care..."

"When did we segue to your feelings for Elena?" That earned her a glare and she gave herself a pat on the back.

"Something you also feel for her."

Bonnie tried not to roll her eyes. If they were going to digress to confirming their undying love and loyalty to Elena, she seriously had a lot more interesting things to do with her time. Like making fireflies.

"Obviously, since she's my best friend."

"So it's not unusual among friends."

The witch gave an unladylike snort. "Sure. Because friends hit on their brother's girl all the time."

"Jealous?" And the leer that appeared on the handsome vampire was no less creepy than on the average dirty old human.

"Right. Because I would be attracted to an almost 200 year old asshole, trying too hard to best his brother."

"Don't compare me to my brother." Bonnie flinched at how loud the bitter words came out of his mouth. He may have accompanied it with a hard slap against the steps they sat on but his booming voice and angry expression was enough to have an impact.

If she were the same person before her grandmother died, she probably would've cowered. But that girl grew up way too fast, immediately lost her rose-colored glasses, had to single-handedly figure out her magic, and practically take care of herself. And the first thing she learned to do is refusing to be swayed by a bully.

"I won't once you don't." she said evenly, staring Damon straight in his cold, blue eyes.

She wanted to say more, rub it further in, and pour rock salt on his now visible wound. How she would relish on picking on his ugly scab, let the pus form, and let the arrogant vampire suffer through the infection. The words were right at the tip of her tongue when her conscience made a sudden unwanted appearance. Understanding seeped through the cracks of petty one-upmanship. Losing momentum, she looked away.

She hated her innate sense of moral compass.

"You can't realize your self-worth if it's dependent on what you think people see in Stefan."

Damon watched her closely and found the shift intriguing. It was no less fascinating to see the bite of the words that he expected to hear be swallowed by her sense of right. The same measure she adheres to which is most likely keeping her from maiming him whenever he made himself known to her.

He didn't understand why she would even care enough to share such wisdom. It was intriguing that she even bothered to say meaningful things to him. As far as she's concerned, Damon was the bane of her existence.

His eyes grew darker, his view adjusting at her slight profile. Fine hair prickled at the magic that surrounded them, ready to be summoned by the novice witch. The feeling was electric and Damon won't be Damon if he didn't poke and prod it for a reaction.

"Is that what you tell yourself to feel better? Try not to compare yourself with Elena or Caroline?"

Bonnie stiffened. She loved her friends but she was a teenager who had the same insecurities as the next girl.

"Always the friend, never the girlfriend?" Damon knew he was deflecting but he didn't care. There was a spike in the air and he loved any type of reaction from her.

"You're a dick." she said, moving to stand. She berated herself for allowing just enough time for him to get to her. And he always did. It irritated her to no end knowing that this was probably the point of it all, of him bothering her.

Damon was up in an instant, blocking her way. "What? You can't take what you dish out?"

She didn't step back, not giving in while the taller vampire towered over her. "It was unsolicited advice. I wasn't being intentionally being mean." she stressed, her finger poking his chest. "Unlike you, I don't get much satisfaction bickering with you."

"Oh I don't know. You seem to take pleasure in putting me in my place." Damon grabbed her finger and held firm when Bonnie tried to free it. "Maybe.." his larger hand moved from one finger to envelope her entire fist. "...I can gratify you some other way." He had the audacity to smirk at that.

For a millisecond, he felt the thick rise of magic around them, knowing something was about to happen, just before he howled in pain and released his grip from her. His palm sizzled in burning pain and he cursed in three different languages. Bonnie moved swiftly to the safety of her house but turned to him before closing her door.

"Like I would let that to ever happen. Unlike the girls you're used to, I have standards. Homicidal bullies with sibling insecurities don't make the cut."

By the time Damon's hand healed, he was left with one thought in mind.

Challenge accepted.

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I'm sorry, I know. I shouldn't be starting a new fic when I haven't finished the other. This has been on my head about the same time Not Elena was conceived so I just needed to get this off my chest. Like it, love it, or hate it, I'll probably continue this anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on, Bonnie. It might be fun."

Bonnie looked at her blankly, conveying that Caroline's idea of fun sometimes differed from hers. Yes, they mostly shared the same interests, but those did not include dating. And that is why Bonnie knew that this line of conversation should be killed swiftly by an arrow doused in gas and fire.

"Tomorrow night? I don't think I'm free." she replied too quickly which only earned an eyeroll from Caroline. Bonnie ignored it by busying herself making her sandwich. They were at the boarding house waiting for Elena so that they can all go to the Grille.

Caroline called it bullshit. "Really? What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Practice magic." Bonnie answered matter-of-factly. She knew this would stop Caroline.

Caroline sighed and made a mental note to tell Matt that he'd have to figure out an excuse to Brad because Bonnie didn't appear to be budging. She could push but there are things that she knew Bonnie wouldn't just go head on which was weird for Caroline. They were young and free to have all the fun they want, date as much as they want.

"I don't know why you're so reluctant to go on casual dates." She bit on her croissant that Stefan had laid out on the kitchen island for them to snack on along with a variety other bread and spreads. "For someone who had a boyfriend pretty early..."

Bonnie almost choked on her sandwich. "What?"

Caroline's eyebrow raised at her knowingly. "Tim Greenfield."

"He wasn't my boyfriend!" Bonnie protested just a tad too loudly.

"So you were by yourselves at the park near the library because...?"

"We were partners in our science project, Caroline. We were making rockets. Hence, the park."

"The Grille?" Caroline hadn't put down the same eyebrow. She added emphasis by narrowing her eyes. It was quite a facial feat.

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably. "Alright that...that one, he did ask me to." And Caroline basked in her triumph of proving the perfect Ms. Bennett wrong.

The neo-witch rolled her eyes at Caroline's smug smile. "One date when we were in 6th grade doesn't mean he was my boyfriend, Caroline."

"Well, he sure acted like one for a month."

"Who acted like what for a month?" Elena asked, finally gracing them with her presence.

"Tim Greenfield." Caroline replied.

"Bonnie's ex-boyfriend?" Elena asked, confused at the blast from the past and Caroline's self-satisfied grin.

Bonnie just raised her eyes towards the ceiling, giving up. It wasn't like she was denying there was anything, but it just seemed saying Tim was an ex-boyfriend was such an overstatement. Yes, he was nice, popular, and nobody can dispute that he was very cute. Yes, she was flattered when he asked her out after they perfected their rocket project. But despite the 'dates' Caroline insisted they had, she didn't really think they were anything more than friends. If it was, she knew it would've felt awkward for her.

"Whatever." was all she could say.

"Why are we talking about Tim Greenfield?" Elena asked, grabbing a croissant, butter, and jam.

"Because I can't understand why Bonnie had to stop dating."

'Ugh.' Bonnie thought, already over this topic. She turned to Elena and was shocked to see her nodding thoughtfully. 'What?'

"And I maintain he was never my boyfriend so technically I've never really dated."

"Tell that to Tim." Caroline said.

"And Tyler." Elena chimed in.

Bonnie was in the middle of drinking water and it hurt like hell when she coughed suddenly at Elena's words. Some of the water were halfway through her nose. Caroline couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. She's never seen Bonnie this flustered before.

"Excuse me?" Bonnie was able to ask after she was able get a hold of herself. Where the hell did that come from?

"What? Don't tell me that there was nothing there too when you dated about a year after Tim?"

"No! Yes, we had a few dates, but I honestly can't say that we were really a thing."

Caroline looked at Bonnie incredulously for a moment, then her shoulders dropped and she sighed. She had to remind herself that when they're talking about affairs of the heart, Bonnie probably was denser than marble.

"Ooh, don't let that reach Tyler." Elena chimed in, shaking her head. Tyler was kind of an asshole but would have moments of being decent especially when Bonnie was around.

"I heard it firsthand." She leaned forward, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "He said you were his first love." She made a show of fluttering her eyelashes and placing her hands over her heart.

Elena had to laugh at the memory. It was some party in someone's house who went to their school. Tyler had eaten magic brownies and was saying one bullshit after another. Bonnie had just walked by talking to some random guy and Tyler just blurted out with a dazed look, "That's my first love right there." At the time, Elena was enjoying his ascent to the heavens while she and Matt elbowed one another at Tyler's expense. She had almost snorted beer from her nose when she heard those words come out of Tyler's mouth.

"Like I would believe drunken confessions." Bonnie rolled her eyes, knowing Tyler would have only been bold enough to say it either drunk or high. Not exactly a heart-racing moment for her. "Is Stefan coming with us?" she asked, more than ready to change the topic. They were on it far too long in Bonnie's opinion.

"He won't." said a cocky voice at the kitchen doorway. "Lucky for you, I'm better company."

All three girls groaned loudly. Bonnie was especially irritated and in her mind, she was quick to blame Elena and Stefan. If they had finished whatever it was they were doing quickly, they would've left already.

Before she knew it, the blue-eyed vampire was right beside her, taking a bite off her sandwich which she was still holding. Close proximity with Damon always made Bonnie's hair raise, like centipedes crawling around her neck, so she automatically took a step away. Damon being Damon latched an arm around her waist to keep her from moving. Scowling, Bonnie looked up pointedly at the undead jerk. Damon held her gaze while still chewing the sandwich he'd bitten. Then he jerked away suddenly, with a litany of curses spilling from his mouth, as he spun around, stomping his foot, and holding his reddened arm.

"What the hell, Bonnie?!" he shouted. He now stood far away from the witch.

No one said a word for a couple of seconds, then Caroline all but sprayed the water she had been drinking, laughing out loud. Elena tried to contain her own laughter while asking Damon if he was okay. Stefan, who witnessed the entire thing from the kitchen entrance, went straight to Bonnie and raised a fist. Bonnie bumped it and and smiled sweetly.

"You okay there brother?" Stefan asked. He absolutely loved it when the witch used Damon as magic dummy.

Damon narrowed his eyes at him, looking at Stefan's arm slung over Bonnie's shoulders. Before he could say anything, Bonnie wrapped up the event. There was no need to prolong any unnecessary discussions involving Damon. She dipped under Stefan's arm to scoop her bag and proceeded to walk out. "Let's go guys. Matt's waiting for us."

All three girls walked towards different cars which were lined up at the boarding house's driveway. One had an annoying vampire leaning against her passenger door. Bonnie gritted her teeth. So much for hoping that Damon would leave her alone.

"Elena, can you ride with me?" Bonnie asked. To her relief, Elena only hesitated a moment but nodded her head and gave Stefan a peck before walking beside her.

Damon's eyes followed Bonnie as she ignored him and went around the driver's side.

"Excuse me, Damon." Elena said, when she stopped right beside him at the passenger door. Damon gave his best leer and then opened the door for her. Bonnie slipped inside at the same time and locked the door as soon he had closed it.

Damon squatted a little so that Bonnie was visible to him, blurring Elena momentarily from his view. "Come on, witchy. Let me ride with you."

"Nope." Bonnie smiled triumphantly and maneuvered the car from off the Salvatore property. Damon's so easily distracted.

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Damon strolled straight to his favorite seat at the bar, feigning ignorance at the group of high schoolers that just left his humble abode. He felt his brother's eyes on him as soon as he walked in the Mystic Grille, liking the feeling that Stefan will always be suspicious of him regardless if he was guilty of anything or not. Something heavy washed over him and he just knew the little witch's judgy green eyes were on him as well, watchful and wary if he would retaliate at her rudeness earlier. He pasted the smirk reserved solely to annoy her and directed it to their table but his expression fell when he didn't find her anywhere seated with her friends. He found Elena watching him instead and he disguised his disappointment by winking at the doppelganger. As per usual, she huffed and looked away.

His brows converged as ice blue eyes quickly swept over the place to find the missing brunette and found her trying to get through the maze of tables towards the restroom. His eyes narrowed when one man deliberately placed himself in front of her to get her attention.

The man looked like a dumb blond jock, not unlike the Scooby gang's 'Mutt,' who was trying to play off his nervousness behind a smile and fists clenched inside his pockets. From what Damon could hear, the witch was being asked to play pool with some of his buddies. Bonnie, who seemed distracted, just gave her patented close-lipped smile, politely declining the invitation. She then found some acquaintances pass them by, a tall strawberry blond and a short redhead, who she traded pleasantries with, momentarily losing focus on the boy in front of her. Damon watched her introduce the girls to Mutt number two, who hasn't seemed to have gotten over being rejected yet. The two girls beamed at the blond jock and chatted excitedly like two toddlers gushing over a new favorite toy. Reluctantly, the loser felt awkward enough to force out an invitation for them instead. Bonnie excused herself and proceeded towards her initial destination, oblivious to the boy's disappointed expression as he watched her leave his space.

Damon rolled his eyes at the teenage drama.

The restroom was on his left and Bonnie would have to pass him to get there. He readied himself for another round of heated back and forth that he expected from the witch. Maybe she'd expend a bit of magic on him. He smirked at that. If she did, then his job was done.

Bonnie was a few feet away and Damon swung around to face the bar, anticipating the rush he'd feel of magic and the smell of cinammon.

"Hey, Bonnie!" An enthusiastic male voice pierced through his vampire hearing and he gave in the urge to scratch his right ear in annoyance. This time, Tyler Lockwood blocked the witch's path, looking smug and entitled as always. Although Bonnie's answering smile seemed a little more sincere, Damon can still tell the hint of annoyance as yet another person kept her from going to her destination.

"Yo, Stefan!" she suddenly said towards their table in the middle of Tyler feeding her crappy flattery. Her voice wasn't really loud enough to carry over the Friday crowd but it was delivered strong enough to make it seem so. Any vampire would've heard it though and Stefan stood up, probably hearing the exasperation that outlined her tone. Stefan weaved through the crowd easily and got to Bonnie and Tyler in a moment.

"You wanted to talk to Tyler about something, right?" Bonnie explained to Tyler and hinted to Stefan, ever the resourceful girl.

Stefan rescued her and took over, allowing Bonnie to finally move, swiftly passing Damon without even an acknowledging glance.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the restroom and ran smack dab against a hard chest covered in leather. Bonnie groaned inwardly, knowing there could only be one annoying vampire blocking her way out. Damon raised his hands to settle them on both sides of the doorframe, trapping the young Bennett witch.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie..." he said, slowly shaking his head in mock consternation. "...my social moth, you have been very rude."

Bonnie scoffed. "Like you have been a gentleman lately."

"Well, I have never claimed to be one."

"Hence, I never treated you as one so I'm not sure why you're complaining." She tried to sneak through a gap under his left arm but Damon was quick enough to block her, leaning against the frame.

"Vampire, please move." she said, exasperated. This was her fault. She should've known that Damon wouldn't let her leaving him at the boarding house earlier slide.

Damon watched her tension increase every second he lingered. He could feel the magic around her heighten as she simmered in irritation. He felt drunk with the feeling, having such an impact to Bonnie.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed as she stared at Damon, seeing a weird look on his face looking back at her. She blanched, irritation turning to disgust.

"Motus." she whispered, flicking her fingers away. Damon contained the involuntary grunt when his back hit the opposite wall. Bonnie moved quickly, walking briskly past him so that she can get back to the noise and crowd. She made sure that any alone time with Damon was at a minimum. But of course, he recovered quickly, grabbing her hand before she could make it to the open, bustling crowd.

Bonnie turned around in irritation. "Damon, I suggest you let go if you don't want to burn again."

Damon's weird blue eyes turned darker. Bonnie could swear that Damon felt this was enjoyable. That she enjoyed it.

Ew.

"Is that the best you can do?" He said, taunting her, his grip firm and unyielding.

"You don't want to know what else I can do to you." she replied, holding her ground. Damon seemed to like that response, moving closer until they were chest to chest, her hand still trapped in his. Bonnie automatically stepped back but couldn't move when he curled a finger to one of her jeans' belt loop.

"How about we test that?" he asked, his smile devilish.

"You want me to display my magic here, in public?" she asked, her eyebrow elegantly rising. She called bullshit on that one.

Damon rolled his eyes condescendingly and whatever the female population of Mystic Falls thought about him, Bonnie could say that it was the most unattractive expression she's seen on him.

"I give you two weeks and then you can show me what you've got." He tucked a stubborn lock of hair behind her ear. It took everything in Bonnie not to visibly cringe.

"And why in the hell would I do that?"

"Call it leveling up your practice sessions."

"I call it a waste of my time."

"You won't be saying that if you learn the best spells." Damon was still too close for comfort and Bonnie tried to step back once again.

Bonnie was about to burn him one more time when he said, "Sicut lamia." That phrase stopped her, a frown forming on her pretty face.

 _Like a lamia or a vampire_.

Damon had to smile because he knew he got her curious when she stiffened and he deemed it a small victory. "Look for that spell and we can...reconvene."

The vampire yelped when he felt his burning hand and released Bonnie. Finally. "How about I just thank you for the tip."

She turned around to get back to her friends. This conversation should've been over yesterday. But no, Damon was right in front of her. Again. She wanted to pull her hair out in frustration. No, pull Damon's hair out bald.

"Find the spell and then we face-off."

Bonnie gritted her teeth. "No." She didn't want sharing extracurricular activities with Damon. Talking to him right now was already making her want to drink a gallon of gasoline and light herself up.

"How about this..." He smirked and stopped himself from moving closer when Bonnie held up a finger. She tried not to look surprised when he actually did stop.

"Let's make a bet. You find the spell, practice, and then we face each other."

"Yes, because I believe you that this spell is even helpful."

"Oh shut it, you know the basics of magic at least. You would understand what the spell is for." Damon said, starting to get pissed off as well.

"And then I use it so that I can beat your ass?" Masochistic much?

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, oh young witch. **_If_** you can beat me."

"And when I do?" Not if, but when. Damon tried not to smile at her cockiness. He felt almost giddy.

"You're free from the shadow of one drop dead gorgeous vampire for a couple of weeks. One less danger from one irrisistible vampire." He had a full blown smile that seemed genuine but all Bonnie could really feel was suspicious. Her eyes narrowed to slits and Damon just reveled on the cinammon scent blanketing him.

His feet moved him closer in response and defied the raised hand that Bonnie had up to keep him from getting up to her personal space. He settled on feeling the warmth over his now tingling chest that had just the right amount of magic in her fingertips.

"But if I beat you," he continued. "You spend a day with me."

His eyes bore down on her and he was in the brink of vamping out. He could almost taste the magic that wanted to punch through his chest, rip out his dead heart, and burn it to crisp with the smoke cloaking it in cinammon balm.

"Bonnie?"

Both of their heads whipped to the owner of the voice interruption. Mutt number two was a foot away, switching his gaze back and forth from Bonnie and Damon.

Bonnie was the first to recover. "Hey Brad." she said, gratefully stepping away from Damon.

"Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

Damon started to say something but Bonnie beat him to it. "Definitely not."

She reached him, trying to avert the tall blond's eyes from Damon's. She didn't need any one of her schoolmates compelled for any reason just because Damon was annoyed. "Are you still playing pool?"

That got the boy's undivided attention.

"Yeah. You joining?" Bonnie nodded in answer, pasting a smile on her distracted face.

Damon wanted to roll his eyes but neither teenagers were looking so he didn't. He waited if Bonnie would say 'Jump' and Mutt II will just bend his legs and go for it.

Bonnie walked away towards the pool table, not giving him a glance back. The blond jock did but Damon was no longer there.

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Yes, I know. If anyone was paying attention to this fic, you might've thought I've abandoned it. Anyhoo, on to working on the _other_ fic.


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